When we got out of the plane, we already noticed the extremely high humidity. We had almost arrived at the southernmost point of India. With Kerala we had a region of India ahead of us, which was completely different from what we had seen before. Above all Kerala captivates by its diversity, because here rainforest, beautiful beaches and the Backwaters meet.
The backwaters are a river and lake system with a total length of 900 kilometres, which lies near the Arabian Sea. Already on paper this spot of India sounded exciting and all Indian tourists we met on our way raved about this quiet and green oasis.
The Revived Paradise
Our only concern was security: about six weeks earlier, a huge flood had killed several hundred people and left countless inhabitants homeless. For a few weeks, houses and infrastructure had to be rebuilt. Still during our travel preparations Indian friends told us that we would have to leave out the south of India probably, since the danger was not yet completely railroaded.
However, the many stories on our journey led us to investigate the current events in Kerala. And the result was clear: It is safe and prepared for tourists again. But what is even more important: The region lives from tourism and is therefore dependent on visitors.
Warm in the heart as well
Already in the first hours after our arrival we noticed that the clocks tick differently here than in the rest of India. A warm cordiality surrounded the inhabitants of Kerala and also the stress of the streets took place here in much smaller doses. In addition, we enjoyed the green vegetation that shaped the picture here.
The Backwaters are a unique experience. It is like a mixture of rainforest, Venice and Hamburg. Our accommodation was directly on one of the main canals. During our breakfast a boat passed by every 30 seconds. One wakes up to each other. Many birds chirped and remained the only sounds in the middle of this paradise.
We decided to get into a canoe for the evening hours. An older gentleman drove us through the smallest canals of the backwaters, whistling and singing songs in the local language Mayalayam. Here there was carelessness and peaceful calm. No engines, no honking, no screaming. The residents at the edge waved and without exception all the people we met here smiled at us.
Our highlight in India
We slowed down completely and were under the ban of the Backwaters. To expose ourselves to it a little longer, we changed to a houseboat. Here you could sleep, eat and drive out even further on the backwaters. So we explored bigger canals, lakes and the adjacent rice fields, which are flooded with water.
So that is also India. The south of the country had got us. If we were still tense at the beginning of our trip to India, we could now completely forget the time here. The Backwaters were our India highlight and should be in our opinion also on the plan for everyone who would like to explore this gigantic country.
What from the Backwaters remains in the mind:
- Being captain feels great..
- Here, too, palm trees make everything better!
- Der Blick auf die Boote beim Frühstücken.
- The view of the boats at breakfast.
- The smiles of the locals.